


He Really Missed You

by arcus_theta



Series: Arcus' Optiratch Drabbles [2]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Conjunx Endura, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, Optimus Prime Needs a Hug, Optimus Prime is Bad at Feelings, Secret Relationship, he gets one though, in season 3, soft optimus and soft ratchet, takes place after ratchet gets kidnapped, the old men are gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:41:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27011425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcus_theta/pseuds/arcus_theta
Summary: “Well,” she started softly, “He wasn’t doing so good, Ratchet. I think- I think he really missed you.”In which Ratchet gets kidnapped and Optimus bottles up his feelings, all while being stalked by June Darby.
Relationships: June Darby & Optimus Prime, June Darby & Ratchet, Optimus Prime/Ratchet
Series: Arcus' Optiratch Drabbles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977616
Comments: 10
Kudos: 98





	He Really Missed You

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place right after se3 ep10, and continues to the end of the series so there are spoilers. 
> 
> Idk why this exists,,, I just wanted to write some fluffy nonsense.

June Darby didn’t have much to do in the aftermath of Ratchet’s kidnapping. While Raf, Wheeljack, and the other children had been busy with the making of the Lazerbeak knockoff, and the other bots had been working on looking for the Nemesis. She didn’t have much she could realistically help with.

She decided to offer emotional support instead.

She had originally been focused on Raf, who had developed a father/son-like relationship with the grumpy medic. She listened to his fears about what the Decepticons would do to him, all while reassuring him that the others could definitely rescue him, and that the cons needed him to finish their formula, and that Ratchet was a smart bot who knew what to do in these kinds of situations. And, by the end of their talk, Raf appeared to be in a better state of mind as he went back to work on the knockoff.

But as much as she believed what she had said to him, she also couldn’t help but feel a tinge of fear and helplessness.

She had been close to Ratchet, more so than to the other bots, he had been the only one she had really clicked with. They had enjoyed each other's company, and he had regarded her as one of the only truly tolerable humans, along with Raf, of course.

So it was no wonder she was feeling a stroke of anxiety right now.

June wanted to talk to and help someone else, with the small hope as well that it might make her feel less nervous about the entire situation.

But when running through, in her mind, those who might need someone to talk to, she came up shockingly short.

Miko and Jack, while obviously still liking Ratchet, hadn’t formed the same level of interpersonal relationship with him, and were also very confident in the current plan of action.

The other Autobots also weren’t proper candidates. Smokescreen, Ultra Magnus, and Wheeljack hadn’t been on earth very long, and probably barely knew Ratchet. Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee, while most likely more affected, had all also been through the ringer, because of the war. This kind of thing could have happened to other comrades of theirs, and June knew they had experienced much worse emotional trauma. They kept their emotions bundled up, and didn’t seem to be experiencing much distress.

Her best idea at the time was to simply wait and observe her friends, jumping into help if it seemed they needed her. But still though, something nagged in the back of her mind.

Optimus.

To say that the leader of the Autobots was simply reserved would be an understatement. The most emotion she had ever seen the bot project onto his features was a small comforting smile here and there, or a light frown and furrowing of his brow.

That wasn’t to say he didn’t have emotions, or even express them. You could often hear passion or anger in his voice, when he allowed himself it. Or sometimes, on a very good day, she swore she could hear a slightly playful tone creep into his conversations with the other bots and children.

Besides, you didn’t need to be able to see his every emotion to understand his words and to know that he was being sincere. However, there was one problem with this, and that was the fact that Optimus was obviously in control of what came out of his vocalizer.

If he restricted himself from showing his emotions like he always did anyway, and also refused to talk about them, it would be very hard for anyone to tell if he was doing poorly.

So June was worried.

Optimus and Ratchet had one of the closest bonds she had ever seen. They generally complimented each other's personalities, and clearly both cared very much about the other one. According to snippets she had heard in passing conversation, it seemed as if they had been friends long before the war, maybe even before Orion Pax met Megatronus, and after the war broke out, they made an effort to stay together. And so even when Optimus came to Earth, Ratchet was there too.

Even if he was good at hiding them, Optimus Prime still had emotions, and June had no doubt that, on some level, he was concerned for Ratchet’s safety.

So she watched him a little bit closer than the rest.

And she didn’t like what she saw.

===================================================================

The first thing she noticed was that he wasn’t interacting with any of the other bots, and was almost completely distant from his peers. Only having small conversation when he was given a status update of some kind. Mumbling a “thank you” or only nodding, and refusing to engage beyond that point.

The second thing she saw was that he seemed to be unable to get most work done. While it looked like he was always busy, he was really just shifting around the base, drifting from area to area, picking up some kind of datapad or opening one of the base computers, but only really staying in that position for a couple minutes and then moving again.

She started to watch him even more closely.

The third thing came a bit later, as it seemed his control was beginning to slip on the clearly turbulent emotions he was feeling. She could see the exhaustion in his frame, and sadness in his optics. Whenever he gave up on wandering the base and sat down somewhere to attempt to reset his mindframe, he looked very downcast and drained.

And sometimes, out of the corner of her eye, in those moments, she could swear his servos were shaking lightly.

===================================================================

Later that day when asked by her son, she had allowed Jack to stay at the base overnight, and had called both Raf and Miko’s parents with an offer of a slumber party that they were led to believe was taking place at June’s house, and not at a super secret government base just outside of Jasper.

Jack was down at about 11:30 and Miko had followed suit by 12:00. Eventually Raf had also passed out, but it took him another hour, and he only allowed himself to sleep after he began to make technical errors as a result of his fatigue. Bumblebee was the only Autobot who was not recharging, opting to stay with Raf until he finished up. And eventually, he also returned to his quarters to rest.

Stifling a yawn, June slowly walked to the end of the residential sections of the base, looking for Optimus’ room. She would leave him alone if she saw him recharging, but something his current behavior, no matter how subtle, made her believe he wasn’t getting very much sleep.

Since everyone else was resting, she hoped that she could persuade Optimus to talk to her, and help him in some way, because it was quite clear to her that he was suffering.

She reached the end of the hall to find the large door to Optimus’ berthroom open, with the light on inside leaking out of the crack in the door. Despite it being open, she went to go knock, but not before she heard a soft, metallic noise from within the room. Almost as if metal was hitting something lightly.

Concerned, she slipped in, peeking her head around the door and into the large room, scanning for the Autobot leader.

He was laying down on the berth to her left, facing the wall, his armor plating shuddering. _Ah_ , she thought, _he’s just recharging, and the sound I heard was just his armor moving while he slept. I’ll have to attempt to speak with him tomorrow._

As she was about to exit the room quietly, she heard a noise akin to a choked sob come from her left. She spun around to see Optimus’ armor rattle more violently, and then pull his legs up towards his chest, curling up into a shaking ball. She heard more light sobs escape his vocalizer, and she wisely left before infringing on anymore of his privacy.

Even though she now knew he was awake, she had decided not to talk to him then and there to avoid him getting defensive or embarrassed or just simply shutting down. She was going to fall back on talking to him the next day, but she now wanted to make it her priority, especially after seeing how he was doing firsthand.

===================================================================

Regrettably, by the time June woke up, the project had nearly been finished and Raf was preparing to send the drone up.

She was quite glad, however, that they were now much closer to finding Ratchet.

Optimus seemed determined and almost restless, it was clear to her that he wished to start the mission as soon as possible. And she shared that sentiment. Arcee had recently opened up to her about some of the things she and her friends had experienced at the hands of the Decepticons, and just knowing what had happened to Bumblebee’s voice box was enough to make her stomach churn.

Megatron was a huge sadist and she feared for the safety of anyone in his grasp, and she knew that Optimus felt that way too.

With everyone working their hardest, the launch quickly came and went, and Optimus jetted off into the stratosphere, following the transponder.

He had been flying for hours at this point, and that had been expected, the warship could be anywhere in the world. He checked in about every 30 minutes, updating them on his and the drone’s conditions.

About 7 hours after he took off, he checked in at an irregular time, and June felt a pang of hope that he had perhaps located the ship, and by doing that, had found Ratchet. 

“Commander,” Ultra Magnus said through the comms, “Have you determined the warship’s location?” Optimus filled them in on the situation with a tone of frustration creeping through his voice.

The Nemesis had spotted the transponder, and Optimus had been unable to make visual contact with the ship. Megatron had dispatched the seeker armada, and while Optimus was preoccupied with them, Starcream found the Lazerbeak double and shot it down, destroying their chances of finding the Nemesis.

“We are no closer to finding Ratchet than when we began,” he finished bitterly.

He then informed them he was going to fly around the immediate air space, looking for the Nemesis, but even June knew that was a long shot. The ship, despite still being close enough to detect the transponder, could be anywhere around him, and was also probably flying away from the location.

She was still standing by the comm system, a sinking feeling of failure filling her, when the base got a pin from the warship.

“Autobot base, do you read? This is Ratchet, does anyone hear me?” came the familiar voice over the speakers.

Relief swept over June in a wave, and as glad as she was to know that Ratchet was okay, she was just as happy to hear Optimus’ cheerful response.

“Loud and clear, old friend!” He nearly yelled, the joy obvious in his voice.

The rest of the base erupted into a chaos of celebration that was quickly cut off by Ratchet himself.

“Listen to me!” He said, almost frantically, “Megatron has managed to rebuild the Omega Lock on board his warship! I’ve deactivated the Decepticon shielding system, so you should be able to get a fix on my coordinates.”

Hasty blaster fire sounded in the background of the transmission.

“Optimus, you must hurry!” Ratchet voice returned to the comm. “Megatron is preparing to cyberform Earth as we speak!”

The sound of blasters returned to the comm, and she heard the sound of metal clanging, possibly Ratchet running away from the communications terminal.

“Ratchet?” Optimus’ voice held a tint of worry. “Autobots, lock onto those coordinates, and prepare to storm the warship!”

“You heard our leader!” Ultra Magnus said, turning to face the rest of the bots. “We’re going in, and we’re going in heavy, so gear up!” The Autobot hastily scrambled to grab the proper weapons and join Optimus in battle.

“Wait!” yelled Miko, “They can’t leave without saying goodbye!” Agent Fowler placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “No time for that, and no need,” he said, reassuringly, “They’ll be back.”

“Initiating the groundbridge.” said Raf, entering the command on his computer.

The bots walked through the portal, ready to meet, what June thought would most likely be the final battle of the war. Perhaps a little too late, after they had disappeared through the green glow of the portal, the true reality of the fact that she might never see some or all of them again was washing over her.

But no, she thought, she had confidence in them. They had survived this long, through hundreds of battles, they could handle one more. Even if it was the most important one they would fight.

===================================================================

As someone on the ground, she didn’t know the specifics of what had happened during the battle for the Omega Lock.

Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Ultra Magnus went to take command of the ship’s bridge. But Soundwave had intercepted the Wreckers, and relocated them to the hold, which caused Raf to groundbridge Miko up, and they were able to trap Soundwave in the shadowzone.

She also knew things hadn’t gone smoothly on the lower deck. First, Smokescreen had split off from the group to find the Star Saber, then Megatron had intercepted Optimus, and broke his jetpack, giving them a distinct disadvantage in space. Ratchet had engaged Shockwave and slowed the power-up sequence, but eventually it was ready to fire.

Megatron and Optimus were fighting hand-to-hand on the Omega Lock frame, while the rest of the bots entered the fight on the lower deck, overlooking the frame.

Smokescreen had brought the Star Saber, but was shot by Shockwave, and dropped the sword. Starscream, Bumblebee, Shockwave, and Arcee had all made a mad dash to grab it. Ending with Bumblebee knocking Shockwave out, and picking up the Star Saber.

As he jumped down to where Optimus and Megatron were fighting, Megatron spotted him holding the sword, and aimed his fusion cannon at the young scout.

Everyone had the same view of Bumblebee being shot in the spark chamber, and saw him fall into the cybermatter below.

Optimus had fought with a rage filled expression the others had never seen before, and he had nearly knocked Megatron off the frame, when the warlord had grabbed onto the Dark Star Saber, and used it to push Optimus off the Lock, nearly crushing his chest as he hung from the frame.

But, to everyone’s utter shock and surprise, Bumblebee rose from the cybermatter, alive, and stabbed Megatron through the spark.

Or, at least, that was Smokescreen’s full account of the battle.

How accurate it was, she didn’t know. Mainly because he kept bringing the actual story of the fight to a screeching halt to gush about how incredible Bumblebee was to the kids.

Shaking her head, she walked over to the orange and white medic occupying the medical berth.

The majority of the bots hadn’t returned yet, as they were busy rounding up the remaining Decepticons, which had turned out to really just be Knockout and a few drones. Only Smokescreen, Bumblebee, and Ratchet had bridged back so far.

Smokescreen had a patch on his damaged shoulder, and was receiving an energon transfusion, but was mainly focused on talking with Bumblebee and the children about the recent events.

Ratchet was sitting up and holding a datapad, running some kind of self diagnostic.

“Hey, Ratchet,” she said, as he looked up at her, “How are you?”

“My systems are running fine, thank you. Despite being attacked by that Predaking, I only suffered a few crushed energon lines, a dislocated shoulder gear, and some light damage to my internal systems that is already almost fixed by my own internal repair.” He returned the datapad to a side table, and got up, walking over to the balcony where June was standing. “I’m alright.”

“I’m glad to hear that, we were very worried,” she said, giving him a small smile.

He averted his optics, “Ha, you humans shouldn’t be so emotional. I can take care of myself, after all, I did manage to contact the base, did I not?”

“Yes,” she started, “but we weren’t worried because we didn’t think you are capable, but just because we care.”

Ratchet mumbled something that sounded vaguely like a “hmph” and turned around to grab the datapad once more.

“Besides,” she said, leaning her arms over the railing, “It wasn’t just ‘us humans’ who were worried about you.”

Ratchet mumbled something again, probably ignoring her.

“Optimus was too.”

He nearly spun around, optics wide.

“How-” He reset his vocalizer, making what sounded like a coughing noise as he attempted to compose himself. “How was he? How did you know?”

Confused, she gave him a look, “How did I know that he was concerned about you?”

“Yes!” he said, barking it out as if it was the most reasonable question in the world.

“Well,” she started softly, “He wasn’t doing so good, Ratchet. I think- I think he really missed you.”

Ratchet had his apathetic attitude back once more, “Hmph, yes, well...” He looked away from her.

“Have you seen him yet?” she asked quietly.

“Yes, I… I did see him on the bridge,” he paused, unsure if to continue, “But we haven’t had time to say anything to each other.” He moved again, back to the datapad, and ending the conversation.

_I think Ratchet missed Optimus just as much._ She thought suddenly.

After their brief conversation about Optimus, it seemed Ratchet was becoming more and more restless and jumpy by the minute.

Almost to the point that when the groundbridge buzzed to life, bringing the others back from the Nemesis, he all but threw the datapad to the side and hurried to the front of the room.

The others poured out of the portal, greeting their humans and comrades with buzzing excitement, but June was much more focused on Optimus and Ratchet.

Optimus also seemed to rush forward, meeting the medic in the center of the room.

They stood, silently, looking at each other, but nothing else, for only a brief second.

Then Optimus reached his hand out, resting it lightly on his friend’s shoulder, a familiar gesture he had done many times to Ratchet, and usually only to Ratchet.

“Old friend,” Optimus said, in a soft tone that didn’t particularly fit him, “I understand you sustained injuries during your time on the Nemesis. If I had been at the base before, or figured out a way to find you faster, that wouldn’t have happened.” He looked downwards, and removed his hand from Ratchet’s shoulder, “I-I’m so sorry, Ratchet, I-”

He didn’t get a chance to finish his apology, as in that moment, Ratchet leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the Prime. He pulled himself into Optimus’ chest, grinning slightly.

“It’s not your fault, Optimus, it never was,” Ratchet said in a soothing tone, “I’m alright, I promise, I’m okay.”

The Prime’s features shifted from shock of being grabbed so suddenly to a relaxed smile at the medic’s words. He moved both of his arms to Ratchet’s back, hugging him tightly to his frame. “I- Thank you, Ratchet,” he said, lowering his head to rest on his friend’s shoulder. “I missed you,” he muttered softly, closing his optics.

“I missed you too,” said the medic, “very much.”

She, and the entire base, had gone completely silent, and were staring at the two mechs in the center of the room. Well, save for Smokescreen, who was still excitedly chatting away, despite the fact that it was obvious that no one cared.

This was… almost crazy. The most affection she had ever seen either of them show was a light reassuring hand on the other’s shoulder, or a handshake. Not holding each other in a tight embrace in the middle of the base.

She definitely wasn’t ready for what happened next.

They broke apart, with arms still wrapped around the other, but just not so tightly. One of Optimus’ hands rested on Ratchet’s waist, while the other was covering the small of his back, and Ratchet’s hands were on Optimus’ forearms. They were grinning at each other happily.

Optimus slowly lifted one hand away from Ratchet’s waist, and brought it up to his head, lying it softly on his cheek. Still grinning, he tilted Ratchet’s head upwards, and leaned forward, looking into the medic’s eyes, close enough for their faceplates to touch. 

And a millisecond later, they did.

Optimus closed the gap between them, kissing Ratchet as both their optics fluttered shut.

The base was blissfully silent for all of one second.

Then, with almost inhuman volume, Miko yelled, “Wait, you two are together?!?”

This prompted the rest of them to break into a melody of chaos, some asking questions and just yelling while others chose to simply make small noises of shock and stand there staring.

_Honestly_ , June thought, _That makes way too much sense._

Ratchet shoved Optimus to the side playfully, a huge smile plastering his face. “You idiot…” he started, shaking his head, “You’re answering all the questions, got it? I don’t want them bothering me.”

Optimus’ grin somehow got wider, “Got it,” he said, bending down to kiss his conjunx once more.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a birthday gift for froggo_kingz on instagram,,, enjoy my dude,,,, and happy birthday! I had the idea to write this after we watched the last couple episodes of se3 together.


End file.
